Piazza Courts Offbeat Retail

"It was a bad neighborhood," he said, but Tower began to continue to purchase approximately 20 acres of land surrounding the abandoned brewery. "Land that was selling then for between $5 and $6 per sf is now selling for $150 per sf," he said.

Liberties Walk, which spans a four-block area along North Second Street, includes 72 apartments, 19 townhouses and approximately 35,000 sf of retail, including Deuce. "From the start, our target was people in their mid-20's to late 30's," he said. The result is "an alternative arts and nightlife destination."

He said locally based Tower is investing $150 million in the development of Piazza. It will consist of four new buildings and the conversion of two vacant former warehouses containing an aggregate of 430 residential units and 100,000 sf of ground-floor retail, all surrounding a public plaza.

The plaza, he said, "is modeled after Italian piazzas. It's not new urbanism, but a return to how we grew up, where you could walk to the local bar, restaurant, park and store. We also see it as a place for concerts, festivals and other neighborhood arts events."

A brochure promoting Piazza retail states, "if you sell the special, the offbeat, the absolutely delightful, the unexpectedly necessary, your shop belongs in the Piazza. No fashions are too bold, no cuisine too haute, and no music too avant-garde for Northern Liberties."

During the same ICSC meeting, Blatstein also alluded to Tower's 43% stake in the $700-million revitalization of Coatesville, which is a half-hour west of Philadelphia in Chester County. Tower's $300-million investment in the redevelopment will include more 600,000 sf of commercial and retail space and more than 1,000 residential rental and condo units along a 2,000-foot Riverwalk entertainment district.